Summer Boy
by marshmallow jam
Summary: After the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione's parents are thinking about pulling her out of Hogwarts. That summer they take an extended holiday to France. Hermione meets a boy who she begins to have feelings for. Oneshot.( Re-edited 16/05/13.)


Daniel and Jane Granger were by no means rich, but they made a fair amount of money doing dentistry. The Grangers had a thirteen year old daughter who, being an only child, was more often than not seeking solace in books rather than human company. Two years ago, a strange letter had been delivered to the house by an owl of all things; it stated that Hermione was a witch, and had been accepted to a prestigious magic school. Being the level headed parents that they were, they had automatically assumed it an elaborate prank, but after two teachers visited and proved that magic was indeed real, they had somewhat apprehensively purchased all that Hermione would need for her education.

They had never thought that they would regret their decision, but when they received a letter stating that their daughter had been 'petrified' by some rampant monster they were fully prepared to pull her out of Hogwarts (only realising later that they had neither the means nor the ends to un-petrify her). When she had finally woken up, she begged and cried to be allowed to continue her time at Hogwarts. Jane and Hermione had fiery bursts of temper both spurting their opinions and views trying to prove that only they were right.

In the end Daniel sighed and suggested that the family take a long holiday, and spend more time together without the mention of Hogwarts. The near loss of Hermione had been a wakeup call for Dan, he loved his little girl so much but lately he could honestly say that he didn't know her. Whenever she blurted out facts about the Wizarding world or used the particular colloquial language that one seemed to pick up by just being around other like-minded people within the Wizarding world, or when she used a metaphor or analogy that he didn't have even the slightest clue about it. His little girl was so grown up and he felt like he'd missed it.

Jane and Daniel had a very long discussion about the reality of the holiday and they were pleased to discover that with the 'rainy-day' savings they had collected and the money that they had been left over after the grocery, water and electronics bills, they would be able to rent a small villa in France for three and a half weeks, there was even a discount on the holiday because there had been a late cancelation, leaving the villa at half price.

Jane, fully supporting the idea of family bonding, had insisted that they take a charter flight rather that doing what Hermione called 'Flooing'. It was a short flight with no turbulence, but Hermione said very little, and when she did it was mostly about her school work or friends. Now it wasn't that the Granger adults didn't care about Hermione's friends, but rather it was quite difficult to have a conversation with your daughter if whenever you tried to speak she would blurt out something along the lines of 'oh! Ron does that –" and then proceed to tell an entire tale about the time they were late for professor so-and-so's class and 'Of course Harry found it incredibly funny!' the story was then repeated from three different angles addressing each of the trio of friends in turn. This was a typical 'Hermione defence mechanism' and had been that was since she was six years old.  
Hermione had a few tells that gave away her true feelings, she was acting all bubbly and excitable about the past year at Hogwarts, but her eyes rarely met her mother or fathers. She twisted her hands together in her lap, and kept hooking and unhooking a piece of brown hair behind her ear as she spoke.

By the time that the family had collected their luggage form the notoriously-awkward baggage handling, and found their hire-car, placed all of the baggage (an entire suitcase of Herminie's that Mr. Granger suspected to be full of books and summer homework) into the regrettable tiny boot of the white Nissan Micra, (most of which ended up in the backseat with Hermione) found the directions to the villa (just finding the map itself had taken an hour) and then taking the hour-and-a-half car journey before pulling up to a picturesque villa with a homely feel, it had old-style white-washed outer walls, with just a touch of ivy creeping up one side, but not enough for it to look like the killer weed it was. There was a small but deep swimming pool and wooden decking, surrounded by indigenous French wild-flowers. Hermione rubbed her sleepy eyes but smiled at the beautiful house that she would be staying in. All three Grangers carried their own luggage into the two bedrooms of the house, uttered the 'goodnight' pleasantries before collapsing upon the linen sheeted beds and promptly losing consciousness with a content smile upon their faces.

It had been three days since leaving England and was now 3 O'clock in the afternoon, Hermione sat upon the breakfast bar stool, eating a bowl of cheerio's since they would all be visiting a restaurant later, and her parents had told her to just eat something light. Hermione's hazel eyes glared at the multi-coloured O's mingling effortlessly in a generous helping of milk, in fact she was so transfixed she didn't notice the new arrival in the house until her mother was clearing her throat and calling Hermione's name, what was unfortunate was that Hermione looked up with the pink-plastic spoon halfway in her mouth and a little milk dribbling down her chin. What was simply mortifying was that the guest in the house was a very attractive boy around Hermione's age. She blushed furiously and wiped at the milk and set the spoon down in her bowl.

"Hermione, this is Seb, his grandmother owns the villa and when we called her to mention the malfunction with the pool filter Seb offered to fix it for us." Jane smiled widely

Seb smiled at Hermione and she blushed once more. His eyes were an extremely bright shade of blue, that seemed to stand out outrageously against his straight, black hair, and lightly tanned skin. He stood in a nonchalant slouch, with his hands in the pockets of the summer print board shorts.

"It's nice to meet you." He had a clear English accent but with a twang of French that came from living in the area for so long and the gradual assimilation of the accent. He offered his hand to shake.

To her utter embarrassment Hermione founds herself blushing once more. "It's nice to meet you too." She stammered before shaking his hand.

Jane took the boy outside and showed him the problem with the filter, and about twenty minutes later it was completely fixed. As the boy was about to leave he caught sight of Hermione again and smiled "If you have any more problems just let me know." He scribbled down a phone number and gave it to Daniel before waving goodbye.

For the past two days the Grangers spent every waking moment in one another's company, it had only taken a little more encouragement a bit of finagling to finally get Hermione to admit what was wrong. She had broken down sobbing when they returned to the villa after a day at the beach, sand still fresh upon her sandals and she slumped on the sofa and cuddled her mother crying about how 'her kind' was treated in the Wizarding world. How she didn't feel as good as everyone else because she was muggleborn, how the 'Slytherins' teased her and called her names, how she was targeted because she wasn't a 'proper' witch.

Dan just rubbed her back and promised that it would be okay. Jane cried with her and promised that Hermione was just as good as they were and no amount of idiotic 'breeding' was going to change that. Dan was seething; how dare some pathetic little kid discredit Hermione because of how she was born, it was blatant racism! What ever happened to all the talk of 'having a dream' and equality? Were these wizards really so backward that they would act so childish and petty about something that was impossible to change? From what he understood about Hermione's explanations of 'Purebloods' some had even married their first cousins to 'strengthen the family blood and line' did these wizards not bother to research the technological advances in the study of biochemistry and genetics? Or were they simply discarding the discoveries of the modern muggle world because of their utter dependence on magic? After her outburst Hermione seemed a little bit more cheerful, not overly, but she was no longer sulking or glaring at cereal. 

The seventh day of their stay happened to fall on Daniel and Jane's fifteenth wedding anniversary, they planned to go out to a romantic meal in the afternoon followed by a trip to the spa, they hadn't wanted to leave her but Hermione assured them that it was fine, and told them she was old enough to take care of herself for at least one night. She was a teenager now and didn't need to be babied, she said as much to them. So after kissing their daughter's cheeks and waving goodbye Hermione was alone.

For about an hour she tried to read but found her attention lacking, bored and hungry with no food in the place, Hermione took some of her spending money, and made sure that the doors and windows were all shut and locked properly, she made her way into town. After looking at several odd stalls on the local market selling everything from apples to good-luck charms, Hermione found herself holding one side of an apple and someone else the other. She immediately dropped it and muttered an apology before meeting a pair of startling blue eyes with her own.

Seb smiled warmly at her "Hermione, right?"

She nodded, and paid for an apple then took a large bite; she brought another just in case she was hungry later. She noticed that Seb only brought one apple. He uttered a few phrases in French to the stall-keeper and gave a smile before turning back to Hermione.

"So have so checked out the town yet? It's pretty cool." He had a faint blush on his cheeks as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, no we've just been to the beach and to a few restaurants." She replied looking back and forth between his eyes and her feet, as if meeting those luminescent blue orbs burned her every time she stole a glance.

"Did you want to take a look around, with me?" the last words made an obvious blush rise on his cheeks, but his stance was confident.

Now Hermione blushed, but smiled widely "I'd love to!"

"Great!" Seb smiled and held out his hand for her to take. If Hermione's face was red before she was quite positive that it was flaming now. Not once had she ever held hands with a boy, not even Ron or Harry and they were her very best friends! But something about holding hands with a stranger seemed so...intimate. like something that only a couple would do, ignoring that thought she griped his hand in her own and as she did her stomach preformed an odd sort of flip.

Seb guided her all through the town, pointing things out or offering tales of his misadventures as a child, he often asked her questions about herself and listened with actual interest, they found a seat in the children's play-park and continued to talk, she told him of her worries about her adequacy in her school (of course she doctored it to cover up magic) and found that although her was unburdening her worries on a stranger it actually helped her to have an unbiased opinion.

"You're being an idiot." Was his tactful response "You are probably twice as smart as most of those at your school, if they cannot look past their idiotic ideals and jealousy then you are better off without them! Don't doubt yourself, you can't change the way they think but you shouldn't think any worse of yourself because of their actions, you're not a superhero Hermione, you can't fix people. I am sorry though that what they say affects you."

At first she was furious that he would say such things, but then she sat back and thought about it and as strange as it was to say, she did feel better after she heard his opinion. She sighed and then smiled weakly.

"Thanks Seb."

He smiled charmingly. "No problem."

Looking at her watch she realised that she had to be back soon, and told Seb exactly that. He smiled and offered her his hand again; she took it and smiled slightly at the warmth. Seb led her back through the town and surprised her by hugging her and saying goodnight. She watched him leave an then shut the door, she bit her lip as she leant against the cold closed door, she grinned to herself and was confused by the hitch of her breath and the fuzzy feeling in her stomach.

The next morning Dan and Jane were awakened by the sound of upbeat French pop music blaring from the radio. They were pleasantly surprised to see Hermione literally bouncing around the kitchen cooking a fry-up. Hermione sang along to the catchy parts of the song, clearly miss-pronouncing the foreign words in an overly exaggerate English accent, she saw her parents coming down the stairs and smiled "Bonjour!" she called "I've cooked breakfast!" Dan had to check if he was dreaming so he pinched his wife's arm sharply and was surprised when she yelped, proving that it was indeed true life and not a dream, she responded by yanking one of the curls in his hair viciously.

"Are you alright Hermione?" Dan asked cautiously

"Oh I'm marvellous!" she responded through mouthfuls of bacon, and was promptly chastised by her mother.

Later that day Hermione met up with Seb again, he took her to a very large lake, which was filled with a variety of pond life including some of the most amazing fish she had ever seen; the water was a deep blue and seemed to travel on forever. The entire area was beautiful, hundreds of wildflowers grew uncontrolled, along with long blades of grass and wheat, and the lake appeared both out of place and perfect amongst the backdrop.

Seb began to tell the tale of the lake, the type of old wives tale that is told as bedtime stories, but to Hermione it seemed very real. She had already learnt from her _History of Magic_ textbook, that in the old age, before the ministries and modern magical laws, there were kings of the magical countries, who ruled through an inherited line of succession dating back to the age of the Old Religion.

"They say that this lake is the true resting place of King Artemis, that after his many battles fought with love and honour, he grew tired of the monotony of living the life of a hero. He travelled far with little need for company or friendship, as by this time in his life he had many children, who were more than ready to rule should he prove unfit. He left the throne to his eldest son to act as the steward until his return. In all of the tales Artemis is portrayed as this infallible ruler, but he had seen so much death and destruction much of which was within his own kingdom.

They say that Artemis travelled for years in guise of a pauper, never resting anywhere for long enough to know the names of his hosts, and that after many years of anonymous life, one day Artemis just stopped. He stood still in the foothills of a valley in a field of purple flowers and long grass as he spoke the truest words of his life; 'I can go no further' he claimed 'I have reached the end of this journey, and will soon begin the greatest of them all.' Artemis lay down his wand and sword and sat n the grass. It is said that when he died his spirit and magic created the great lake, as a symbol of the peace that he found in his final hours. This place has become a tourist destination for the French; it brings a sense of calm, does it not?"

Hermione couldn't speak; the lake did indeed being about a feeling of tranquillity within her, and the story her new friend had spun brought tears to her eyes. She smiled "Thank you for bringing me here."

Seb smiled too and took her hand in his "I thought that with how stressed you were yesterday, you could do with being in a place like this."

Hermione was touched. Although she loved them both dearly, Harry and Ron were incredibly insensitive sometimes, they didn't understand when she needed a break, but apparently Seb did, and she hadn't even known him for that long. They spent the rest of the day at the lake, laughing with each other and talking Seb had even tried to teach her a few French words, and then laughed at her pronunciation, but she caught onto them quickly and soon began to learn sentences as well.

As the day progressed Hermione was surprised to find that she considered Seb as one of her friends despite the short time she had known him. Seb was very charming and he had an intuitive air about him, he always seemed to know what to say without coming across as manipulative or calculating. He was completely at ease in her company, and on some intrinsic level she knew that his personality was utterly genuine.

"C'mon." He smiled "let's get you back to the villa." He took her home, hugged her, and bade her goodnight with a smile on his face.

For the next seven days Hermione met up with Seb, either just walking around town or going shopping, a few times he took her to see some films in French, but she didn't really understand much, so the next time he took her bowling. It was strange, every time she saw him she had this odd feeling in her chest and stomach, her breath would hitch and she felt herself blushing each time he smiled at her. Once they had gone to a book shop, and whereas most would tease her about her obsession Seb understood. "My mother loved books very much, I like to read to it helps me feel closer to her."

They were very open about their lives, and found each other easy confidants. Seb told her about his uncle being imprisoned and the death of his father, and she told him edited tales of her misadventures at Hogwarts. Seb told her about his grandmother's high expectations of him, and how he was afraid of not meeting them, how he felt so pressured at school. Hermione put an arm around his shoulders and listened diligently, offering her opinion when it was needed.

She found that his grandmother was a source of great angst in his life; she had taken him in when he was a four years old, after his parents died. They had moved to France when he was eleven so that he could be closer to the school that he had gained a scholarship in. When she asked him why France and not England he had replied "There's too many bad memories for my grandmother, she wanted a fresh start and we already had some standing within the property market in France, so we moved away after I got the letter of invitation to my school."  
Hermione had to bit her lip when he said the part about letter, it seemed to much like her own letter from Hogwarts, but she didn't say anything, after all it was just as likely that he was a muggle than a wizard, asking him stupid questions could ruin not only their friendship but also breach the statute of secrecy.

On the fifteenth day of her holiday Hermione invited Seb to come to the villa and swim with her, he arrived a little late but profusely apologised and explained that his grandmother was quite strict. Hermione was already in the pool when he arrived, Jane told him so and said to just go right out, as both herself and Dan had planned to go wine-tasting.  
He laid his towel upon the tiled garden floor, took off his t-shirt and dived in. Hermione spluttered as the water splashed her but blushed furiously at the sight of Seb without his shirt. She saw the cheeky lopsided grin upon his face, and smiled back still blushing.

"You're blushing." He teased

"No I am not!" she flushed redder

He laughed "Yes, you are!" he moved a little closer, a roguish grin on his face.

"N-no, I'm not." She stuttered, her eyes flitting to and from his azure eyes.

"Yes, you are." He repeated once more. He leaned over her and rested his arms on her shoulders, her blush deepened so far she was almost seeing in red. He leaned forward very hesitantly, but then gained more confidence, he placed a small kiss on her lips before pulling back to judge her reaction. "Is this okay?" he asked uneasily

She smiled and nodded "yeah..."

He grinned and kissed her again, she kissed him back.

Hermione's hands were held in Seb's, his arms wrapped around her waist as they both watched the sun setting on the horizon, the soft and damp sand was gritty against their bare feet. Seb held her close but didn't say a thing.

"I'm leaving soon." She whispered

"Yeah," Was his only response.

A bird flew in the way of the soft orange glow of the sunset cast a cool shadow upon the couple, returning to it's nest for the night. Just as swiftly as it came into view, it disappeared leaving no trace of its ever being there other that the slight chill that had settled over them. The beach was rapidly cooling as the light of the day faded; the once scorching sand was now as cold as ice, chilling the tanned skin of the two teens.

"I'll write to you, you know that right?" she whispered

He smiled sadly "You know you won't. Maybe at first you will, but after a while, Hermione, it will become just another chore, you will forget about the French boy you met whilst on holiday, and it will become just another memory." He ran his thumb affectionately across her bronzed cheek, and stroked her hair. "Just promise me that you won't forget about me."

"I promise." She said, almost whimpering.

He leant forward and kissed her lips, locking his fingers in the brown silky tresses of her hair. Hermione closed her eyes tightly, willing this moment to stay in her mind forever. Suddenly he pulled away from her, held her hand, and pressed a piece of paper into her fist, and then left.

Tears welling up in her eyes she unfolded the paper. It was an address for her to write to him.

Hermione was tearful for the rest of the day, as she began to pack her things. She paused as she saw a set of photo-booth pictures of her and Seb pulling funny faces. She smiled at the memory, and placed them inside her diary. A tapping at the window led her to discover that a large snowy white familiar owl was actually in France! She opened the window and the bird flew in. A hand flew to her mouth when she realised that she hadn't sent Harry his birthday present yet. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a note to harry, before tying up the pre-wrapped resent to the letter and tied both to Hedwig's legs. She offered the bird some water and bread, which she gladly took, and watched the bird fly away.

The flight to Heathrow was delayed by four hours. In those four hours Seb was all Hermione could think about. He was her first boyfriend, and she missed him a lot. But most of all she was hurt by his words. How he told her that they wouldn't see each other again, how they would certainly fall out of touch and forget each other. What had hurt the most is that he was telling the truth.

Hermione had written to pen pals before; when she had tried to keep in contact with her old friends from primary school, they had talked for a while until the letters had slowly decreased in number until they stopped completely. She hated the idea of the same thing to happen between her and Seb. He was the first person near her age that had understood her, accepted her faults and still liked her, the very first person, who wasn't family, to offer to hold her hand, to hug her...to kiss her. She liked him very much and could not bear that thought that he would be nothing but a memory. He couldn't even keep in contact with her at Hogwarts, he was a muggle and she was a witch, she couldn't tell anyone about the magical world, how was he supposed to owl her? He couldn't, just like muggle post couldn't deliver to Hogwarts. _

Seb lay on his bed with his arms behind his head, he had said goodbye to Hermione today. The first girlfriend he had had, the first girl who didn't like him because of his money or family name, who had accepted that he was flawed and still liked him. She was the first girl to look past his appearance and care for his personality, and accept that he was intelligent. He glared angrily at the Quidditch posters scattered about his bedroom walls; he was a wizard and she a muggle. How was he supposed to contact her when he was at Beauxbatons, Owl her? That would go down well. He couldn't even convince his grandmother to let him Floo to England to meet up with her, how would he explain that he had a muggle girlfriend? Walburga would probably disown him and then curse Hermione for the trouble.

Two teenagers sighed, both of them silently cursing the statute of secrecy, their memories replaying the summer, bringing slight smiles to each of their faces.


End file.
